Wire-stretcher.



No. 723,244. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1L903.

C. L. COX & J. W. SOUTHERLAND.

WIRE STRETGHER.

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UNITED STATES GAINE LAFAYETTE COX,

ATENT EEIicE.

OF ATHENS, AND JAMES WILLIAM SOUTHERLAND,

OF CHANDLER, TEXAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,244, dated March24, 1903. y

Application filed May 29, 1902. Serial No. 109|531. (No model.)

To all-whom it may concern:

Be it known that we',-`CAINE LAFAYETTE COX, residing at Athens, andJAMES WILLIAM SOUTHERLAND, residing at Chandler, in the 5 county ofHenderson and State of Texas, citizens of the United States, haveinvented a new and useful WireStretcher, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to devices for stretch- `Io ing wires, moreparticularly in building The implement comprises a lever or handle `lO,of any suitable length and size, but which will generally be about iivefeet long and 'about three inches square at the larger end, andpreferablytapered and rounded into a hand-grip at the other end.

Attached to one side of the larger end of 3o the lever 10 is an openeyebolt 11, the shank of the eyebolt secured in place by a nut 11, thenut `being also utilizedto secure an angular stop-bar 12, extending atright angles from the lever, as shown. Intermediate of the lever lO isrevolubly secured bya nut 13 another eyebolt 13, the eyeportionextending from the sideopposite the eye of the bolt 11, andengaging this eyebolt bya corresponding eye 14 is a rod 14, the outerend of this t p `4pc rod being turned backward for a distance, as

shown at 14". The recess formed by turning the end 14h backward is in acomparatively `long V shape, as shown, so that'it will grip a small orlarge wire equally well. The eyebolts lland 13 may be any desireddistance apart and the rod 14 may befof anydesired length; but inpractice we have..found.that forafive-foot lever 10 the eyebolts shouldbe y about fifteen inches apart and the rod llia `5.0 should be abouteighteen inches long.

` In using the implement for stretching the linewires across thefence-posts the implementis placed againstapost, (indicated at 15,) withone face of the angular stop 12 bearing against one side of the post, asshown in Fig. 1, and the coacting face of the lever bearing against theadjacent side, the corner of the post fitting into the angular recessthus formed by one face of the angular stop 12 and the extremity of thelever beyond said stop. 6o The wire (represented at 16) is then drawn astightly as it conveniently can be by hand and inserted into the V-shapedcavity at 14h `and pressed into the cavity and slightly bent.

This will .firmly couple the wire to the rod and prevent the possibilityof slipping. Then the lever is moved around horizontally in thedirection indicated by the arrow until it is in substantial alinementwiththe line-wire, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. This will 7obring the line-wireacross the post 15 in position to be secured bystaples in the ordinary manner. The leverage grows greater and 'greateras the ou ter end of the lever is brought around nearer and nearer intoan alined posltion with the line-wire, so that at the last part of themovement the pull is very strong, and this strong pull is at the pointWhere most needed and where the resistance is greatest. When theadjacent ends of two 8o Wires are to be united, as when uniting the endsof broken wires or when inserting a section of wire between broken ends,the implement is reversed and the butt-end united to the post 15 nearestthe break by a 85 chain 17, coupled to the eyebolt 11, as indicated inFig. 2. The broken end of the wire is then coupled to Vthe rod 1in andthe lever operated as before, which will draw ne broken end intocoupling relations to the 9o other end. The implement is thus adapted toall lthe uses for which such implements are usually employed and willvery effectuyally do the Work required of it.

`into position for coupling.

-with a diagonal brace 12, as in Fig. 3, if preferred, to strengthen thestop.

A grip-bolt 18 will be attached to the bar 10 intermediate of theeyebolts 13a and 11, formed similar to the grip 111b and adapted toengage the Wire 16 when required by means of a nut 18a on the oppositeside 0f the bar, as shown. When lthe break in a Wire is too remote froma post l5 to conveniently employ a chain 17, one end of the broken wirewillbe engaged by the grip 18 and the other end by the grip 11b and thebar 10 drawn around until the parts 14h and 18 are brought into closeproximity, which will likewise bring the broken ends of the wire Thismakes a very convenient and useful adjunct to the device and greatlyincreases its usefulness.

The free or handle end of the bar 10- will preferably be provided with ahook 19 to enable the lever to be tied fast after it has been Operated'to hold the wire while being coupled or stapled, sor that one person canperform all the work;

The eyebolt 11 will also be found Very useful in drawing staples andalso in assisting in forcibly adjusting the Wires upon the post, andthus obviating the necessity for the operator handling the wires, whichare frequently barbed, with the hands.

The end of the bar 10 beyond the stop 12 may be extended, as shown inFig. 3, if a longer nip is required.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is- 'In aWire-stretcher, the combination of a lever forming a handle, an eyeboltforming a shank extending through the same near the point thereof, anangular stop engaging said shank, a nut mounted on the latter andsecuring said eyebolt and stop in position, an auxiliary,oppositely-extending swiveled eyebolt, a rod connected with the latterand having a bent end forming a V-shaped grip, and a grip-bolt having aV-shaped member, said grip-bolt extending transversely through thelever-bar between and at right angles to the veyebolt.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoaffixedour signatures in the presence 0f two Witnesses.

GAINE LA FAI E'ITE COX, JAM ES WILLIAM .SOU'lIlEILA ND.

Witnesses:

J. C. BEALL, R. M. LUCAS,

